Golden radiance filled the sky and pierced through the clouds. Had this city lacked the protection of its rare and ancient formation arrays, it would have crumbled apart inch by inch.

Ripple upon ripple spread outward from the point of collision — rising from the ancient city walls, surging up from the ground, weaving together in the void, transforming into divine city-protecting inscriptions.

It was precisely these ancient patterns, carved down through countless ages, that prevented a catastrophe of world-ending proportions from unfolding.

Ye Fan and Liu Feng’s great battle ignited the most brilliant sparks from the very first exchange — like a magnificent fireworks display at the height of some golden era, radiant and beautiful, yet carrying within it a force capable of annihilating all living things.

Their movements were blindingly fast — Ye Fan’s fists, Liu Feng’s secret arts — colliding in the void, a clash of strand after strand of divine law chains, accompanied by scenes evocative of the primordial creation of heaven and earth.

Eventually, they burst past each other, each occupying their own stretch of sky. Both turned to look back at their opponent from afar, their eyes blazing like small suns, shooting out ray after ray of light as sharp as golden needles — utterly terrifying.

The two faced each other in silence — cold, hostile, watchful.

Many hearts pounded furiously. This was a truly rare battle — the pinnacle of the Saint King’s Ninth Heaven facing off against a Great Sage. An event the world had not seen in many, many years.

Boom!

The next moment, they collided again — faster than two lightning bolts. Liu Feng opened his mouth and expelled a seal, wrought from interlocking laws and principles — blindingly magnificent — and sent it hurtling forward.

Heaven trembled. Earth shook. It was as though the entire cosmos teetered on the verge of shattering — the four directions destabilizing, earth, fire, wind, and water all manifesting simultaneously, as if the world were being unmade and reborn, with primordial chaos and twilight mist billowing through everything.

They separated again — both retreating — neither having gained any clear advantage. The fight was evenly matched.

The crowd was stunned. Could the human race’s Holy Body truly be this powerful — genuinely capable of contending with a Great Sage? It was almost beyond imagination.

Between Saint King and Great Sage lay a barrier — described as an unbridgeable heavenly chasm. Throughout all of history, only those who had entered the forbidden domain and a rare handful of exceptional individuals had ever managed to punch through it.

No matter how far you cultivated within the Saint King realm — even if you stood at its absolute peak, just one hairsbreadth from breaking into the Great Sage domain — you would still be suppressed here, forced down by the gap in level, unable to bridge it in cross-tier combat.

Of course, there were exceptions. Certain extraordinary races — such as those of the Holy Spirit lineage — as well as a few of history’s most breathtaking supreme talents, had managed to defy the world and shatter through this barrier.

Without question, Ye Fan had shattered through it. This left the gathered crowd in shock.

It was entirely within the realm of reason. Not only was his bloodline formidably powerful — rumor also had it that he stood within the forbidden domain, looking down upon all rivals, possessed of absolute and supreme capital.

Liu Feng’s expression was hard and stern. He moved like a blazing fire phoenix — the sound of iron chains ringing unceasingly across his entire body. Looking closely, one could see that from every single pore, a deep crimson divine law chain emerged, rattling as they trembled.

Flames roared around him. Step by step, he advanced — truly resembling a divine phoenix reborn in fire, his aura surging suddenly to several times what it had been moments before.

“If this is the full extent of your combat power, you have greatly disappointed me.” Liu Feng said coolly.

The crowd was thrown into deep alarm, their bodies aching as if their very bones might crack. A Great Sage’s aura flooded outward like a bursting tide, causing the heavens in all four directions to tremble. Was this his true power?

Ye Fan said nothing, his gaze locked on his enemy. He was undeniably powerful — but facing a Great Sage was not something he could afford to do with a divided mind. After all, the barrier separating the two levels still suppressed even the greatest of talents.

Boom!

Liu Feng advanced. His true form sundered the vault of heaven — he was like a divine being that this world could barely contain, capable of igniting and destroying an entire domain.

He transformed his body into a divine phoenix, dancing through the nine heavens, pressing down over Ye Fan from above in an unrelenting descent. This was the great suppression of a Great Sage’s mighty dharmic body!

Ye Fan felt enormous pressure bearing down on him. His body was being forced steadily downward. Both hands striking upward, he resisted the fire phoenix above — until finally, he was pushed all the way down to ground level, his feet pressing against the ancient city’s flagstone floor.

Crack!

The stone let out a sharp, splitting sound — but almost immediately, formation inscriptions spread outward across the surface. The ancient supreme-grade formation array had activated, halting Ye Fan’s descent.

Above, Liu Feng continued pressing downward. He was attempting to crush Ye Fan into a paste of flesh and blood through sheer overwhelming dharmic power — a pure suppression of realm and cultivation.

Ye Fan’s body tensed as he fought to resist. This was his first time going blow for blow with a Great Sage — previously, whenever he had encountered a cultivator of this level, his only option had been to retreat.

Suddenly, a thread of golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth — almost imperceptibly fine. No one watching could detect it, but Liu Feng spotted it clearly, and a faint, cool smile spread across his lips.

“Talents are plentiful beyond counting — but those who cannot enter the Great Sage realm are nothing in the end. No matter how gifted one may be before that point, it is all worthless. When all is said and done, one is still dust.”

Ye Fan paid it no mind. This was a wound from his Great Dao injury — it flared on occasion but did not affect his combat strength. Occasionally a few threads of blood would seep out, but it was truly nothing to be concerned about.

Liu Feng, naturally unaware of this, assumed Ye Fan had taken real damage. He grew increasingly composed, the deep crimson divine law chains covering his body billowing like the feathers of a spreading phoenix — clanging and resounding, pressing steadily downward.

Ye Fan felt the full weight of the pressure bearing down on him. This was a genius-level Great Sage making his move, and the threat was significant enough to demand his complete attention.

With a great crash, Liu Feng descended — and Ye Fan’s feet sank into the stone floor, leaving two frightening holes. By the fifth suppression, Ye Fan’s legs from the knees down had been driven entirely into the stone, and he could sink no further.

Because below lay the very root structure of the formation array — which blocked all downward force and held up the soles of his feet.

Many people watching this scene could not help but sigh inwardly. Even with the barrier broken through, a large portion of one’s power was still diminished, making a truly meaningful cross-tier battle nearly impossible to realize.

What was more, this particular Great Sage was a heaven-defying genius by nature — someone who had already been an extraordinary prodigy in cultivation, and was now even more fearsome than before.

The crowd watched in silence, convinced that Ye Fan was finished. No matter how formidable he might be, he almost certainly had no way to turn things around. The suppression of a vast realm boundary was something no one could overcome.

Liu Feng was indifferent. “What does talent amount to in the end? To those of us who are Great Sages, it is nothing but a joke. Those who cannot enter this realm are nothing but ash in the wind.”

He truly had every right to say such things. Every Great Sage had fought their way out of a sea of thousands — crossing a razor-thin bridge to reach the other side — living through everything a so-called genius would ever face, and then taking that one final step further.

“Little uncle, kill him quickly! Seal his primordial spirit and original consciousness into my treasure — make it a vessel spirit.” The child of about twelve or thirteen called out.

Liu Mingde said lightly: “It appears I went too far this time — calling on so many Great Sages just to deal with you. I truly overestimated the difficulty. Throughout all of history, when has a Saint King ever warranted this much effort? This really is using a cleaver to slaughter a chicken.”

Boom!

Without warning, Ye Fan moved. His body wrenched itself free from the stone floor and surged upward — launching a counterattack on Liu Feng.

The reversal came with no warning whatsoever. No one had anticipated it. It had seemed Ye Fan was about to be completely suppressed — then without any sign, he erupted, his aura multiplying several times over in an instant.

He went straight at Liu Feng in a direct, frontal assault — this was the true Heavenly Emperor Fist, upright and vast, great and sweeping. Every swing within its golden radiance sent the stars of a thousand heavens flickering within it, as if a universe itself were being refined and condensed.

The fist force was immense — so overwhelming that Liu Feng was driven backward, his body aching all over. Even the force of the wind from the fist alone sheared at his flesh, leaving faint lines of blood across his skin.

Liu Feng’s expression changed sharply. The Heavenly Emperor Fist truly lived up to its fearsome reputation. He had heard of it long ago and had not thought much of it at first — but now that he was fighting against it in earnest, he finally understood how terrifying it truly was.

Ye Fan threw out a sweeping horizontal punch — carrying the force of something capable of hammering ten thousand miles — and when his arm moved, the heavens crumbled under the pressure, the ancient city’s formation runes blaring and reverberating as though they were barely holding together.

This sight shook not only Liu Feng, but also the Great Sages watching from behind — every one of them deeply alarmed, their conviction hardening that Ye Fan had to be eliminated immediately.

Liu Feng kept his guard tightly focused — all of his attention consumed by the Heavenly Emperor Fist, every last ounce of energy poured into dealing with it alone, desperate not to take a lethal blow and be defeated by someone in a lower realm.

What he never anticipated was what came from behind. Behind Ye Fan, five-colored divine light flashed — and five precious swords swung in a unified arc, slashing forward all at once, offering him no angle of escape.

First, with a wet, sharp sound, his left shoulder burst in a spray of blood — his arm very nearly came away entirely. Then — crack — the purple-gold crown binding his hair was sheared cleanly from his head, split in two. His hair fell loose around him in a wild, disheveled mess. He was an embarrassingly wretched sight.

Behind them, the child cried out in alarm. Liu Mingde gaped and went rigid with shock.

Fortunately, in that moment, Ye Fan and Liu Feng each shot apart in opposite directions — separating just in time. Had they not, the only outcome would have been fighting to the death on the spot.

Liu Feng looked coldly ahead, concluding that Ye Fan had been holding back and chose this critical moment to strike — and had nearly succeeded in dealing a devastating blow.

“My apologies — this is my first time fighting a Great Sage. I was not fully accustomed to it at first. I am settled now. I will see this through to the very end.” Ye Fan said calmly.

The crowd, upon hearing that, all had an urge to cough up blood. Had to get…accustomed? Was he joking? It was impossible to tell whether this was sarcasm or pure showing off.

The truth was almost certainly that he had been reading the intent and aura of a Great Sage — using the exchange to calibrate his understanding of the two elder Great Sages who had not yet made their move, measuring their strength. Now he had a complete picture.

This thought alone sent a chill rippling through everyone. This was only a Saint King — and yet he was a match for Liu Feng. Even if Liu Feng was newly ascended, it was still staggering enough to frighten anyone.

“Hey, Liu Feng the Great Sage — didn’t you say you were going to handle us however you pleased? They nearly shaved off the top of your head.” Long Ma gloated with absolutely zero tact.

Several tufts of Liu Feng’s hair had actually been torn out. He stood there in a disheveled, wretched state, and right now his face was as dark as iron.

“Back where we come from, we call that a ‘watermelon head.'” Pang Bo added, helpfully providing a thorough explanation for those nearby.

Liu Feng shot a glare at them — threads of sharp light exploding from his eyes, shredding through the void and becoming sword light that came slashing forward. Ye Fan shifted three thousand yards sideways, stepped in front of the others, and threw out his fist to blast it apart.

“Feng’er — come back!” Liu Mingde called out, a deep unease taking hold. Ye Fan’s power had exceeded all their projections — he was genuinely capable of holding his own against a Great Sage.

Liu Feng paid him no mind. Dark crimson divine law chains covered his body from head to toe as he transformed into an undying phoenix and dove down. At the same moment, his brow bone blazed with light — a deep crimson small figure appeared before his forehead, standing upright between his brows, waving a great flag as it bore down with crushing, suppressive force.

Ye Fan’s entire body blazed with golden radiance. All of his phenomena manifested at once, merging into a single dazzling brilliance — as though time and space itself had been locked still. He raised the Heavenly Emperor Fist and drove it upward to meet his enemy.

This was a ferocious and brutal collision — the two of them hammering against each other countless times: secret arts clashing, phenomena battling the Great Sage’s Dao banner, as if two halves of heaven were crashing into each other, with fragments of shattered Great Dao law raining down in all directions.

This clash lasted a long time and came to a harrowing conclusion. A thread of golden blood seeped from the corner of Ye Fan’s mouth — while Liu Feng’s entire right arm was obliterated by a single punch, sending shards of bone and splattered flesh flying everywhere.

“Feng’er!”

The law-enforcer Liu Mingde cried out in anguish. He hardened with fury — and something appeared above his head: a supreme secret weapon that transformed into a ghostly underworld city, radiating an aura that sent every powerful figure present trembling.

This was a supreme treasure — the ancestral weapon of the Liu clan, known as the City of the Dead. Because of it, Liu Mingde had earned the name Liu Fengdu — this weapon had made his reputation feared throughout the world. Though not a Great Sage himself, others still regarded him with wariness because of it.

At the same time, he transmitted a message, summoning the two elder Great Sages to make their move. Those two were truly on a different level — their cultivation far beyond any newly ascended Great Sage, beyond any possible comparison.

In the instant that Ye Fan’s gambit paid off — the moment he struck and wounded Liu Feng — he did not retreat even a single step. Instead he transformed into a streak of flowing light and clung close, pressing the attack in tight quarters, relentlessly and unwaveringly battering him without pause.

The ancestral weapon, the City of the Dead, crashed down from above — heaven splitting, earth cracking. Even the densely layered ancient formation arrays carved throughout the final checkpoint were on the verge of giving way under the strain.

The two elder Great Sages made their move as well, which was even more devastating — charging directly at Ye Fan, intending to finish him with a single strike, giving him no chance whatsoever.

Ye Fan was genuinely blindingly fast — like a flash of flowing light, he evaded them — and then a rain of blood fell from the sky as he tore away one of Liu Feng’s legs entirely, splitting it nearly clean in half, blood streaming freely.

Every onlooker was shaken to their core. This was a Great Sage — and he had been torn apart like this. The injuries were devastating. And that was while Ye Fan was under all this pressure, facing this level of assault — just how terrifying did that make the human race’s Holy Body?